KEY POINTS:
It is true, travel really does broaden the mind. It helps break perceptions and arriving in Edinburgh via Hong Kong and Dubai forces anyone with a European-centric view of the world to rethink.
The last two months have been spent worrying about the global financial meltdown and just
how badly it is going to impact upon New Zealand.
The American and European financial markets have been in meltdown mode and their respective economies are about to follow. That's bad news for New Zealand - raising corporate capital will only get tougher, key trading partners will downscale their demands for commodities and we will all have to accept that the good times are over, or at least on hold for an indefinite period.
Having come to the end of the longest sustained economic boom in modern history, what precisely has America, Europe and by extension, New Zealand got to show for it?
We sit now on the cusp of an extended recession and most households are dangerously leveraged. Most governments are, too and the truth is we squandered the lot.
All that money and what did we do? - we spent it on properties with inflated price tags, European cars, country club memberships and a whole heap of good dinners. We make the assumption that because we were greedy, because we weren't smart enough to do more with our wealth that no one else has. The world is America and Europe.
Except when you walk through Hong Kong Airport you realise it isn't. This is an airport for the ages. In 30 years this will still be a building functioning expertly. Rock up to the impressive Central Station in the CBD and you can check in for your flight, hop on an express train for half the price of a taxi fare from central Auckland to the airport, and be at your gate 30 minutes later. It is staggeringly efficient, low hassle and the perfect example of what can be achieved if innovation and investment are well partnered.
Dubai Airport is much the same. They have just built a third terminal and like Hong Kong, this is an airport with a wow factor.
They are more than just airports, though. They are indicators that both states have positioned themselves to continue growing. Infrastructure has been treasured more than being a member of the best golf club.
These are economies that will ride over any economic turbulence. These are economies that have foundation, that have emerged from the boom with something to show.
In Hong Kong and Dubai there was no impending sense of doom. We have to stop thinking that just because America and Europe are on their knees that the world is on its knees.
Some countries have more compelling economic legacies than negative equity and sky-high debt.
Gregor Paul
Photo / Getty Images
